Motion transmitting apparatus



A ril 1, 1958 Filed Aug. 16. 1955 M. C STEVENS MOTION TRANSMITTING APPARATUS :5 Shets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. 0. S E [N6 April 1, 1958 M. c STEVENS 2,828,634

MOTION TRANSMITTING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 16. 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. Ma WA/ 6. STA 5w April 1, 1958 M. cu STEVENS 2,328,634

MOTION TRANSMITTING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 16; 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR. Ma WV 6? SIB [M9 United States Patent The present invention relates to motion transmitting apparatus and, more particularly, to such apparatus which can be applied to toys, educational devices and advertising displays, for example, although its use is not limited thereto.

The present invention is primarily concerned with im parting motion to an element to effect a useful or entermining operation in response to the movement of another element which is related to the operation to be performed or is merely a part of an operating mechanism.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide such apparatus which is simple and economical in construction.

Another object is to provide such apparatus which is automatic in operation but is entirely mechanical and does not involve electrical control networks.

Another object is to provide such apparatus which has a wide field of application.

A further object is to provide such apparatus which can be embodied in the device wherein it is used or can be merchandized as a unit adapted to be put to use as seen fit by the ultimate buyer thereof.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims,

and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are accomplished by providing apparatus comprising the combination of a flexible strand, means for fixing the respective ends of the strand at spaced apart points, pulley means intermediate the points, the strand being in operative engagement with the pulley means to efiect rotation thereof and being of a greater length than the distance between the points and in some cases to provide slack therein, means moving in a fixed path adjacent the points for pulling the strand to cause the pulley means to be rotated and move a member connected thereto, and means adjacent the path for causing the last mentioned means to be rendered inefiective.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of apparatus illustrating one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view illustrating operation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of apparatus illustrating another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view illustrating operation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentaary plan view of a toy railroad system illustrating still another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view taken along the line 6-6 on Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an end elevational view taken along the line 77 on Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of 2 a railroad crossing gate operated by the apparatus shown in Figs. 5 to 7.

Referring to the drawings in detail and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown apparatus which essentially comprises a mounting board 10, a flexible strand 11, means 12 mounted on the board for fixing the respective ends of the strand at spaced apart points, pulley means 14 mounted on the board intermediate the means 12 and having the strand in operative engagement therewith, for example, by wrapping the same around the pulley means, the length of the strand being greater than the distance between the means 12 and having slack therein; means 15 moving in a fixed path adjacent the means 12 for engaging and pulling the strand to cause the pulley means to be rotated, and means 16 adjacent the path for causing the means 15 to release the strand.

The strand 11 maybe in the form of a chord, strip, wire or chain. Preferably, the strand comprises chain sections 17 at its ends which sections have sufficient weight to drop into position by gravity for the purpose to be described hereinafter, and an intermediate section, such as a leather strip 18 which provides for frictional engagement with the pulley means. Alternatively, the intermediate section could be a sprocket chain in engagement with a sprocket associated with the pulley means to provide for more positive operation of the pulley means.

The means 12 comprise a pair of brackets 19 and 20 each having a pair of spaced apart upright arms 21 and 22. The arms 21 have the respective ends of the strand 11 secured thereto and the arms 22 have an aperture 24 through which the strand passes, whereby an end section of the strand is presented between the arms 21 and 22 to facilitate engagement thereof.

The pulley means 14 comprise a generally cylindrical sheave, capstan or drum 25 about which the strand is wrapped, an upright mounting shaft 26 on the board, and a member supported by the drum 25 for rotary movement therewith, herein depicted as a search light 27.

The means 15 comprise an endless belt 29, a pair of belt supporting rollers or pulleys 30, brackets 31 for rotatably mounting the pulleys on the board to position the lower section of the belt adjacently across-the brackets 19 and 29, a drive shaft 32 operatively connected to one of the pulleys adapted to be powered by hand or suitable mechanism (not shown) to drive the belt 29, and elements 33 equidistantly spaced on the belt and spaced apart a distance at least slightly greater than the distance between the brackets 19 and 20.

The elements 33, as illustrated herein, comprise a plate 34, hinged at 35 to the belt 29, and a pair of spaced apart fingers 36 straddling the belt 29 and having hooklike portions 37 at their ends positioned to pass between the arms 21 and 22 to engage the section of the strand between these arms.

The means 16 are illustrated herein as a pair of arms 39 and 40 each having a stop 41 at one end thereof positioned above the board for engagement by the plates 34 and having its other end 42 secured to the board at points I spaced in a down-path direction from the brackets 19 and 20, respectively.

The apparatus just described is adapted to be operated to oscillate the search light 27, the are through which the search light is oscillated depending on the distances between the bracket 19 and the arm 39 and the bracket 2 and the arm 40. With the strand 11 in the position shown A and the belt 29 moving in the direction indicated by the arrows, such operation is accomplished in the manner about to be described.

As the belt moves, the fingers 36 of the element 33 (now on the lower section of the belt) engage the strand section between the arms 21 and 22 of the bracket 19 and pull the strand as the belt moves on, thereby causing the pulley means 14 to be rotated in one direction, and taking the slack out of the strand which is in the form of a loop resting on the board between the bracket 29 and the arm 40.

When the element 33, now carrying the strand, approaches the arm 39, the stop 41 of this arm is in the path of the plate 34 of this element (Fig. 2). Further movement of the belt causes the stop 41 to engage the plate 34 and rock the same in a clockwise direction, as viewed, whereby the fingers 36 of this element are raised above the belt 29 to cause the strand section carried by the ends 37 of the fingers to be positively disengaged and released therefrom. The aforementioned strand section is now neatly laid in the form of a loop between the bracket 19 and the arm 39 just like the loop formerly between the bracket 26 and the arm 4! which is now completely removed by reason of the strand being pulled to present a taut strand end section between the arms of the bracket 40.

The element 33 just having released the loop in the strand now moves on to engage the taut strand section between the arms 21 and 22 of the bracket 46 and pulls the strand to rotate the pulley means in the opposite direction, whereby the slack loop between the bracket 19 and arm 39 is removed and the slack loop, shown in Fig. l, is relaid to complete one cycle of operation.

In accomplishing the foregoing operation, it will be appreciated that a piece of chain at the ends of the strand is more readily engaged and carried than a strand having practically no mass," drops off the fingers 36'by gravity and is more neatly laid as a loop. Also, the weight of the loop imposes a drag on the strand section wrapped about the drum 25 to provide for better frictional engagement and more positive movement of the pulley means.

In Figs..3 and 4, another form of apparatus is shown wherein like parts corresponding to parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are indicated by like reference numerals, but which differs from the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in that the strand 11 has no slack therein and the points at which the ends of the strand are secured are not fixed. Also, the member moved by the pulley means 14 is depicted as a gun 44.

This is accomplished by mounting a metal strap 45 on the board 10 which comprises three flat sections 46, 47 and 48, each. secured to the board, upright sections 49 and 50 adjacent the sections 46 and 47, respectively, and sections 51 and 52 intermediate the sections 49 and 47, and 50 and 48, respectively. The sections 51 and 52 are identical and are disposed horizontally above the board for the greater portion of their length but are inclined downwardly to the sections 47 and 48, respectively. The sections 51 and 52 respectively have blocks 53 and 54 slidably mounted thereon, each having one of the ends of the strand secured thereto.

In this embodiment the elements 33 are somewhat simplified and comprise a plate 55 fixed to the belt 29 and a pair of fingers 56 on the plate arranged to depend from the lower section of the belt and straddle the strap sections 51. l

in operation, with the parts in the positions as shown, movement of the belt 29 in the direction indicated by the arrows causes the fingers :56 to engage the block 53 and slide it along the strap section 51. This causes the strand 11 to be pulled, whereby the pulley means 14 are rotated in one direction and the strand pulls the block 54 along the strap section 52 in an up-path direction towards the upright section As the fingers 56 push the block 53 down the incline of the strap section 51, the block 53, as shown in Pig. 4, descends to a level whereby the fingers 3 6 are no longer effective to push the same and ride over the block upon slight tilting which is made possibie by the flexibility of the belt 29. 7

Upon further movement of the belt, the fingers 36 which have just released theblock 53 now engage the block 54 and move it in the same manner as the block 53 to return the blocks 53 and 54 to their starting positions. In doing this the pulley means are rotated in the opposite direction.

In the foregoing arrangement, the points at which the ends of the strand are secured move but are always the same distance apart. In a sense, the freedom of movement of the blocks provides for slack adapted to be taken up in the strand.

In Figs. 5 to 8, a toy railroad system is shown which includes tracks T having a straightaway portion which defines the fixed path, and a train including a front car which is driven by an electrically or spring powered motor means along the tracks. In such a system, it is desirable to perform operations which are associated with the passing of a train, such as raising and lowering a railroad crossing gate G, as shown herein. However, it will be readily appreciated without further illustration that a gate or door could be caused to be opened as the train passes the same and to be closed after the train has passed, or a searchlight (Fig. 1) or a gun (Fig. 3) could be caused to follow the train through a portion of its travel along the straightaway and then be returned to its initial position to go through the same movement the next time the train comes around. It will also be understood that the train could be substituted by a piece of motored military equipment to make such operation even more realistic.

The foregoing is accomplished by apparatus comprising a flexible strand 11, a pair of spaced apart posts 60 adjacent the tracks and mounted on the surface which supports the tracks, the ends of the strands being fixed at the top of the posts 60 and the end portions passing through an eye or guide 61 at the lower end of the posts, the crossing gate G including a stanchion 62, a pulley 64 rotatably supported by the stanchion and having the strand wrapped around it and a gate arm 65 counterweighted and connected for movement by the pulley, a

' pair of fingers 66 mounted on the car C (or on an engine or other equipment or vehicle, if desired) extending almost to the posts to engage the strand or chain 17 portions supported thereby, and an arm 67 spaced downtrack from each of the posts 60 adapted to engage the strand section carried by the fingers to be released therefrom and be laid as a loop. Preferably, a guard plate 69 covers the section of the strand at the crossing.

In this arrangement the strand has slack therein and the adjacent posts 60 and arms 67 are spaced a distance apart which is just less than the slack available in the strand. The fingers are yieldable or springy to enable them to flex as the arms 67 effect release of the strand.

In operation, as the train passes the first post 60, the fingers 66 engage the end portion of the strand extending between the guide 61 and the top of the post and pull the strand, thereby causing the pulley 64 to be rotated to lower the gate arm and to remove the slack at the other end of the strand and place theend portion in a vertical position. Just as the foregoing is fully accomplished, the first arm 67 engages the strand section carried by the fingers 66 to release the same therefrom' As the train passes the second post, the fingers engage the strand end portion thereat and pull the same, thereby causing the pulley to be rotated, but this time in an opposite direction to raise the gate arm 65 and to remove the slack at the other end of the strand and thus place the end portion thereat in a vertical position for engagement by the fingers when the train comes around again. Just as the foregoing is fully accomplished, the second arm 67 engages the strand section carried by the fingers to release the same therefrom. p i p In order to enable the train to operate the apparatus while moving in either direction, a second pair of strand releasing arms 70 is provided at points spaced from the posts 60. Assuming that the train now moves in the opposite direction, the first time the fingers 66 pass the post 66 at the left (Fig. 5) no action takes place but, when the fingersthen pass the post 60 at the right, the

strand is pulled in the manner described before and the strand section at the post at the left is conditioned for action the next time the train comes around. When such double directional operation is desired, the gate may be substituted by a warning device adapted to be operated by the rotary movement of the pulley.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides simple, economical and practical motion transmitting apparatus which can be put to a wide variety of uses in many fields of application, the pulley 25 being merely an example of utilizing the strand 18 of the invention for rotational movement. It is evident that translatory movement can be provided instead by substituting a vehicle for the pulley, cutting the strand 18 intermediate its ends, and securing the cut ends of the strand to the front and rear portions of the vehicle. The apparatus is composed of elements which are not likely to get out of adjustment and repair upon prolonged use thereof which elements do not require any high degree of mechanical skill to set up and operate. Also, the apparatus is entirely safe and thus can be played with by children.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matters are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a flexible strand, means for fixing the respective ends of said strand at spaced apart points, pulley means intermediate said points, said strand being in operative engagement with said pulley means to effect rotation thereof and being of a greater length than the distance between said points, means moving in a fixed path adjacent said points for pulling said strand to cause said pulley means to be rotated, and releasing means adjacent said path for causing said last mentioned means to be rendered ineffective.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, including a member connected to said pulley means to be moved thereby.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said strand releasing means include two elements each disposed beyond one of said points in the direction of movement along said path, and wherein said strand has slack therein.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said ele- 7. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said finger means include a plurality of fingers each spaced on said belt means a distance greater than the distance between said points.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means moving in a fixed path include a track defining said path, and a vehicle travelling on said track having finger rnea'ns thereon for engaging and pulling said strand.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said finger means include a yieldable element engageable by said strand releasing means to eifect flexing thereof in a direction to cause said strand to be released from said finger means.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for fixing the ends of said strands include means constructed and arranged to position the end portion of said strand in the path of said means to effect engaging and pulling the same.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the end portions of said strand are constructed of chain links.

12. Apparatus according to claim ll, wherein an intermediate portion of said strand is wrapped around said pulley means to frictionally engage the same.

13. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a flexible strand, a pair of means having the respective ends of said strand secured thereto at spaced apart points, pulley means intermediate said points having said strand in operative engagement therewith to effect rotation thereof, means moving in a fixed path adjacent said points constructed and arranged for first effecting movement of one end of said strand to move the other end of said strand into another position and cause said strand to rotate said pulley means in one direction and for then efiecting movement of the other end of said strand to return both ends of said strand to their initial positions and cause said pulley to be rotated in the opposite direction, and means for rendering said last mentioned means inefiective when said strand has been moved a desired distance.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said strand securing means are fixed and said strand has slack therein.

15. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a pair of elements have the respective ends of said strand secured thereon, and means extending in the direction of said path have said elements slidably mounted for movement thereon.

16. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a flexible strand, means for fixing the respective ends of said strand at spaced apart points, means intermediate said points, said strand being in operative engagement with said second means to effect movement thereof and said strand being of a greater length than the distance between said points, means moving in a fixed path adjacent said points for pulling said strand to produce movement of said second means, and releasing means adjacent said path for causing said last mentioned means to be rendered ineflective.

No references cited. 

